Precise Argumentation in Texts

Managers have to be good writers, and very often the success of a project depends on a managers writing-skills, for example in applications for funding or publications. This is a fact that is largely ignored by common training programmes, which focus exclusively on rhetoric and oral communication. In this seminar, managers learn all the tools they need in order to state arguments in their writing in a precise and efficient way. The starting point of the seminar are questions such as the following: What are the building-blocks of an argument? What makes an argument logically valid? What types of argument-patterns are there? From these basics we derive tools that will significantly improve the participants’ ability to state arguments in their writing.

Every participant gets the chance to apply the acquired methods directly to topics from his or her work and to edit already existing manuscripts with the help of the group and the trainer. Courses available in English or German.

Objectives

The participants…

state their arguments in a precise and logically coherent way

improve their written communication

avoid misunderstandings in their written communication

learn to quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of arguments

train analytical thinking

Methods

The methods are interactive throughout. The course provides extensive exercises that aim at the application of the acquired skills to the participants’ individual fields of work. The participants get individual feedback on the results of their exercises and on already existing manuscripts. They get the chance to edit manuscripts with help from the trainer.